(Ottawa) Canada’s Competition Bureau is unable to determine if all disposable wipes are flushable.
Posted at 12:55 p.m.
In 2019, Friends of the Earth Canada and Ecojustice lawyers filed a complaint with the agency, alleging that makers of about 20 brands of disposable wipes incorrectly claimed in their advertising that their products could be disposed of in a toilet.
In February, the Competition Bureau informed the group that it was terminating its investigation, explaining that it did not know what exactly “flushing the toilet” meant.
There are a number of conflicting guidelines about what products can be disposed of in municipal sewer systems.
Excerpt from the letter from the Competition Bureau
The CEO of Friends of the Earth Canada, Beatrice Olivastri, considers that the decision of the federal agency “is unacceptable”.
The group had based their complaint on a study conducted by the University of Metropolitan Toronto which found that 23 kinds of wipes labeled as “flushable” were not actually flushable.
Mme Olivastri laments that the Competition Bureau has not contacted any organizations or experts named in the complaint, including the authors of the study or the International Water Services Flushability Group, an association that has set standards for what can be actually flushed down a toilet.
Citing confidentiality, the Competition Bureau would not say what its investigation found or identify those interviewed.
A spokeswoman for the Competition Bureau, Julie Baribeau, told The Canadian Press by email that the agency “does not endorse representations about what is flushable and testing to assess these products,” even if it ended its investigation.
Single-use wipes are a thorn in the municipal sewer system. They can block the system. Many class action lawsuits have been filed against the manufacturers.
Canadian municipalities estimate that it costs them at least $250 million a year to remove sewer-clogging clumps, known as “fatbergs,” that form when wipes and other undisintegrated solids stick to substances such as cooking grease.
PHOTO PATRICK SANSFAÇON, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
In the United States, numerous class action lawsuits have been filed against manufacturers.
Days before the Competition Bureau’s decision to end its investigation, a US judge had approved a settlement in a lawsuit filed by the city of Charleston, South Carolina, against Kimberly-Clark.
The company has not commented on the Competition Bureau’s decision, but a spokesperson told The Canadian Press that it still insists its wipes can be flushed down the toilet.
Mme Olivastri says Federal Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne can seek a review of the Competition Bureau’s decision.
But a spokesman for Mr. Champagne said the minister will not.
“Investigations under the Competition Act must be conducted independently by the Competition Bureau,” the email reads. He can act at his discretion based on the evidence he has amassed. »
In the United Kingdom, the government is considering introducing standards because of major blockages in the pipes. We even removed piles of wipes the size of a passenger plane or a bus.